Korea and her neighbors: A narrative of travel, with an account of the recent vicissitudes and present position of the countryBird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)
History
Korea and her neighbors: A narrative of travel, with an account of the recent vicissitudes and present position of the country
Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)
Korea -- Description and travel
Before leaving England letters from Korea had warned me of the
difficulty of travelling in the interior, of getting a trustworthy
servant, and above all, a trustworthy interpreter. Weeks passed
by, and though Bishop Corfe and others exerted themselves on my
behalf, these essential requisites were not forthcoming, for to find
a reliable English-speaking Korean is well-nigh impossible. There
are English-speaking Koreans who have learned English, some in the
Government School, and others in the Methodist Episcopal School, and
many of these I interviewed. The English of all was infirm, and they
were all limp and timid, a set of poor creatures. Some of them seemed
very anxious to go with me, and were partially engaged, and the next
day came, looking uneasy, and balancing themselves on the edge of their
chairs, told me that their mothers said they must not go because there
were tigers, or that three months was too long a journey, or that they
could not go so far from their families, etc. At last a young man came
who really spoke passable English, but on entering the room with a
familiar nod, he threw himself down in an easy-chair, swinging his leg
over the arm! He asked many questions about the journey, said it was
very long to be away from Seoul, and that he should require one horse
for his baggage and another for himself. I remarked that, in order to
get through the difficulties of the journey, it would be necessary
to limit the baggage as much as possible. He said he could not go
with fewer than nine suits of clothes! I remarked that a foreigner
would only take two, and that I should reduce myself to two. “Yes,”
he replied, “but foreigners are so dirty in their habits.” This from
a Korean! So once more I had to settle down, and accept the kindly
hospitality of my friends, trusting that something would “turn up.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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